[3] The species is named after its discoverer, Father Pierre Jean Marie Delavay, who collected it at 3,500–4,000 m on the Cang Mountain near Dali.

Trees at lower elevation (2,400–3,000 m) differ in having the leaf margin less revolute, and are separated as a variety Abies delavayi var.

[3] The Vietnamese population, with a disjunct range on Fansipan (at 3,143 m the highest mountain in Vietnam), is distinct in paler red-brown shoots and the cones having shorter bracts (not exserted), and is separated as a subspecies Abies delavayi subsp.

[6] Delavay's fir is occasionally grown as an ornamental tree, but its successful cultivation is limited to regions with cool summers and high rainfall, such as western Scotland and the Pacific coast of Canada.

A semi-dwarf form originating at very high altitude has been selected as a cultivar 'Major Neishe', growing to 3–4 m tall.